Burrow Octorok
Burrow Octoroks—often referred to simply as Octoroks or Land Octoroks—were the first known species of land-dwelling cephalopods descended to develop from oceanic mollusks on the planet of Hyrule. Ambush predators unlike their many descendants, they have taken to balancing tufts of grass (for the Faron subspecies) or rocks (for the Lanayru subspecies) on their heads and burrowing into the ground to lie in wait for unsuspecting prey to walk into range, at which point they will reveal themselves and attempt to knock their foe out with spat rocks. They also burrow like this to sleep and presumably hide from their own predators. They are noticeably heavily protected from harm in these burrows, and adventurers have not been known to find a way to successfully damage the Octoroks should they venture too close to them and have them reburrow. Like some later specimens in their lineage, they are prone to injury should a clever enough adventurer uses a sturdy shield to deflect their rocks back at them, or even with a sword strike. Burrow Octoroks are reportedly susceptible to bow and bomb attacks, as well as the Skyward Strike technique used in conjunction with the blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword. They will notably chatter angrily if yanked out of their burrows, though they are swift enough to usually return to their dens before a foe can strike at them again. As they have not been recorded since the Sky Era, it can be presumed that they evolved into the various other forms of Land Octoroks and that this particular, primitive strain is now effectively extinct. Evolution The Burrow Octoroks evolved from oceanic mollusks, and may be the first genus of Octoroks to eschew aquatic requirements entirely. Given that the Lanayru Desert was once a great inland sea, it can easily be assumed that this was where the Octoroks originated from, evolving to burrow in order to survive in the harsher and harsher conditions as the sea dried up. It is not known if they still require their burrows or their eggs to be moist in order to survive by conserving water or otherwise keeping their skin hydrated, although since Burrow Octoroks still exist in the Lanayru Desert, it might be that they no longer need this. From here, they appear to have moved into the Faron Woods, where they have settled in abundance. It is likely from here that the rest of the land Octoroks evolved over time. At some point, the Sky Octoroks evolved to move into the troposphere, although whether they evolved from Faron or Lanayru stock is unknown. It is also unknown if Sea Octoroks or River Octoroks are their descendants or possibly evolved from their ancestors. Coincidentally, the Deku Scrubs look nearly identical to Burrow Octoroks. While some have speculated that the Deku may have in fact evolved from Burrow Octoroks, this seems highly unlikely given the Octoroks' mollusk heritage when compared to the Deku's plant heritage. Instead, it may be that the Kikwi, a species of florauna that was likely heavily predated upon by the carnivorous Octoroks, evolved into several species including the Deku. If this is the case, the Deku likely look like Burrow Octoroks as a form of visual mimicry, presumably to lower the likelihood of predation upon themselves. Etymology "Octorok" is a portmanteau of octopus, aquatic invertebrates with which Octoroks share some physical similarities, and rok (as in rock), referring to the rocks that Octoroks fire as projectiles. Behind the scenes *Octoroks of various types have appeared in every The Legend of Zelda title to date, with the solitary exception of Twilight Princess. Given that the game before that one, The Wind Waker, informed players that Octoroks had a "perfect attendance record", it is easily assumed that they were given a break for one game, as a sort of "vacation". In Twilight Princess, they were replaced with the Toadpoli lineage. Appearances *''The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword'' Category:Legend of Zelda Universe Category:Creatures Category:Fictional Creatures Category:Magical Creatures Category:Fauna Category:Sentient Beings Category:Non-sapient Beings Category:Mollusks Category:Cephalopods Category:EX Category:Video Game Creatures Category:Forest Creatures Category:Desert Creatures